Techniques for wireless access and wireline network integration

ABSTRACT

One embodiment is a method and includes receiving at a termination element of a first network a bandwidth report (“BWR”), in which the BWR includes information regarding a data transmission opportunity over a second network for at least one endpoint data; scheduling a first network transmission opportunity for the at least one endpoint data using information derived from the received BWR; and receiving from a first network forwarding device the at least one endpoint data in accordance with the scheduled first network transmission opportunity.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e)to 3 U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/306,360, entitled“END-TO-END QOE SUPPORTED WIRELESS-WIRELINE INTEGRATION,” filed Mar. 10,2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/339,463, entitled“LATENCY REDUCTION FOR LTE SMALL CELLS WITH FIXED BACKHAUL,” filed May20, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/345,624, entitled“NETWORK CONTROLLED DYNAMIC SMALL CELL MANAGEMENT,” filed Jun. 3, 2016;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/345,634 entitled “EXPEDITEDSESSION SETUP,” filed Jun. 3, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/353,755 entitled “LATENCY REDUCTION FOR VIRTUALIZED LTE SMALLCELLS WITH FIXED BACKHAUL,” filed Jun. 23, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/357,770 entitled “WIRELESS ACCESS AND WIRELINENETWORK INTEGRATION,” filed Jul. 1, 2016; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/360,171 entitled “TECHNIQUES FOR BACKHAULING AN LTE SMALLCELL OVER A DOCSIS NETWORK,” filed Jul. 8, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/362,033 entitled “PIPELINING HARQRETRANSMISSIONS FOR SMALL CELL BACKHAUL,” filed Jul. 13, 2016; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/405,683 entitled “CMTS GRANT MATHFOR LATENCY REDUCTION FOR VIRTUALIZED LTE SMALL CELLS WITH FIXEDBACKHAUL,” filed Oct. 7, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/405,686 entitled “HARQ RETRANSMISSION PIPELINING FOR TRADITIONAL ENBAND VIRTUALIZED SMALL CELL WITH FIXED BACKHAUL,” filed Oct. 7, 2016; andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/443,105 entitled “PACKETSEGMENTATION IN STANDALONE SMALL CELL,” filed Jan. 6, 2017. Thedisclosure of the prior applications are considered part of (and areincorporated by reference in) the disclosure of this application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates in general to the field of communications and,more particularly, techniques for integration of wireless access andwireline networks.

BACKGROUND

Today's communication systems may include separate wireless and wirelineportions, each of which may be owned and controlled by differentoperators. Even though some cable operators, also known as MultipleSystem Operators (“MSOs”) use Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (“DOCSIS”) networks for backhauling Internet traffic,separate networks, such as mobile core, DOCSIS, and radio, have limitedto no visibility into parts of the other network types. Typically, eachnetwork type, such as DOCSIS and LTE, have separate traffic schedulingalgorithms. As a result, currently when these types of networks arenetworks are combined, the resulting architecture may be inefficient andmay result in longer latency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a more complete understanding of the present disclosure andfeatures and advantages thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, whereinlike reference numerals represent like parts, in which:

FIG. 1A is a simplified block diagram illustrating LTE functional radioprotocol stack in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 1B is a simplified block diagram illustrating CMTS functionaldecomposition in accordance with embodiments described herein.

FIGS. 2A-2C are simplified block diagrams illustrating variousarrangements of a DOCSIS small cell (“DSC”) system including astandalone small cell and a split Cable Modem Termination System(“CMTS”) for connecting user equipment (“UE”) to a mobile core inaccordance with embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 2D-2F are simplified block diagrams illustrating variousarrangements of a DSC system including a split small cell and a splitCMTS for connecting UE to a mobile core in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a technique forQuality of Service (“QoS”) matching and expedited session setup inaccordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating LTE and DOCSISrequest-grant processes in a DSC system having a standalone SC inaccordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram illustrating techniques forpipelining LTE and DOCSIS requests;

FIG. 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating techniques for pipelining LTEand DOCSIS requests with scheduling request (“SR”) optimization inaccordance with features of embodiments described herein comprising astandalone SC;

FIG. 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating techniques for pipelining LTEand DOCSIS requests in accordance with features of embodiments describedherein comprising a standalone SC;

FIG. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating LTE and DOCSIS request-grantprocesses in a DSC system having a split SC in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating techniques for pipelining LTEand DOCSIS requests in accordance with features of embodiments describedherein comprising a split SC;

FIG. 10 illustrates simplified block diagrams illustrating architecturalcombinations of split SC and split DOCSIS, and for each combinations,how HARQ is treated when pipelining techniques is implemented.

FIG. 11A is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in anintra-PHY split SC embodiment of a DSC system;

FIG. 11B is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in anintra-PHY split SC embodiment of a DSC system in which pipelining of theLTE and DOCSIS requests is accomplished using a BWR in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 12A is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in aPHY-MAC split SC embodiment of a DSC system;

FIG. 12B is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in aPHY-MAC split SC embodiment of a DSC system in which pipelining of theLTE and DOCSIS requests is accomplished using a BWR in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIG. 13A is a simplified block diagram illustrating UL data plane packetsegmentation in accordance with embodiments described herein;

FIG. 13B is a simplified block diagram of BWR adjustment in accordancewith features of embodiments described herein;

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a technique fordynamic traffic steering in a communications network in accordance withembodiments described herein;

FIGS. 15A and 15B are simplified block diagrams illustrating techniquesfor load balancing among a number of DOCSIS integrated small cells byexpanding or shrinking cell sizes thereof in accordance with embodimentsdescribed herein; and

FIGS. 16A and 16B are simplified block diagrams illustrating a techniquefor controlling power consumption in a network including a number ofDOCSIS integrated small cells in accordance with embodiments describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Overview

One embodiment is a method and includes receiving at a terminationelement of a first network a bandwidth report (“BWR”), in which the BWRincludes information regarding a data transmission opportunity over asecond network for at least one endpoint data; scheduling a firstnetwork transmission opportunity for the at least one endpoint datausing information derived from the received BWR; and receiving from afirst network forwarding device the at least one endpoint data inaccordance with the scheduled first network transmission opportunity.

Example Embodiments

With regard to wireless network deployments, many network operators, areentering the mobile space using, for example, a Mobile Virtual NetworkOperator (“MVNO”), or Mobile Other Licensed Operator (“MOLO”), model asan initial step. Network operators include but are not limited toMultiple-System Operators (“MSOs”), Telecommunications Companies(“telcos”), satellite operators (including high speed satellitebroadband services), fiber operators, and UAV internet providers. AnMVNO is a wireless communications services provider that does not ownall or a portion of the wireless network infrastructure over which theoperator provides services to its customers. An MVNO may enter into abusiness arrangement with a Mobile Network Operator (“MNO”) to obtainbulk access to network services at wholesale rates and then sets retailprices independently. An MVNO may use its own customer service, billing,marketing, and sales personnel or could use the services aof a MobileVirtual Network Enabler (“MVNE”). With the existing Hybrid Fiber Coaxial(“HFC”) infrastructure, network operators, such as MSOs, are in aposition to readily deploy mobile small cells, as well asbackhaul/fronthaul/midhaul (hereinafter collectively referred to as“haul” or “hauling”) their own network traffic. MSOs can leverage smallcells to achieve better MVNO economics. Furthermore, network operatorsutilizing an MVNO/MONO model are positioned to backhaul MNO networktraffic between small cell/remote radio head connected wireless devicessupported by an MNO and the MNO's mobile core.

As used herein, the term “small cell” refers to a range of low-poweredradio access nodes, including microcells, picocells, and femtocells,that operate in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum with a smallerrange than that of a “macrocell.” It will be recognized that, whiletechniques disclosed herein are primarily described with reference tosmall cells, the techniques may be broadly applicable to other types andsizes of radios, including, for example, macrocells, microcells,picocells, and femtocells. Additionally, in accordance with features ofembodiments described herein, a small cell may be implemented as astandalone small cell, or simply a small cell (“SC”) or eNodeB (“eNB”),in which its functionality is contained within a single component, or itmay be implemented as a split small cell in which its functionality issplit into separate components including a central small cell (“cSC”)and a remote small cell (“rSC”). FIG. 1A is a simplified block diagramillustrating LTE functional radio protocol stack in accordance withembodiments described herein. As shown in FIG. 1A, LTE functionalityincludes a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (“PDCP”)/Radio Link Control(“RLC”) layer 100, a high Medium Access Control (“MAC”) layer 102, whichincludes MAC scheduling functionality, a low MAC layer 104, whichincludes HARQ process management functionality, a high physical (“PHY”)layer 106, which includes HARQ decoding and indication functionality,and a low PHY layer 108. It will be noted that the functional split in asplit SC may occur between any of the functional layers illustrated inFIG. 1A, with certain of the functions (e.g., PDCP/RLC and high and lowMAC) residing in the cSC and the remaining functions (e.g., high and lowPHY) residing in the rSC.

FIG. 1B is a simplified block diagram illustrating CMTS functionaldecomposition in accordance with embodiments described herein. As shownin FIG. 1B, CMTS functionality includes a high MAC layer 110, a low MAClayer 112, which includes MAC scheduling functionality, and a PHY layer114. As also shown in FIG. 1B, a remote MAC/PHY device (“RMD”) split isdefined as a split between the high MAC layer 110 and the low MAC layer112 and a remote PHY device (“RPD”) split is defined as a split betweenthe low MAC layer 112 and the PHY layer 114.

It is recognized that small cell technology will pay a significant rolein future 5G networks. Some 5G applications (e.g., mission critical MTC,VR, tactile Internet) require 1-10 ms end-to-end deterministic latency.This includes time allocated for device processing, air interface roundtrip time (“RTT”), and network processing. The backhaul latency mustalso fit within this end-to-end latency budget. 3GPP “New Radio” focuseson a new air interface design to achieve the latency budget; however,today's backhaul incurs latency an order of magnitude more. Networkswith lower backhaul latency will be able to provide superior 5Gexperience and serve niche 5G applications. Other applications includeWi-Fi, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.

Cable networks are well suited to provide backhaul for small cell andother types of networks, including, for example, fiber networks, otheroptical networks, and satellite networks. Cable networks and thewireless access portions are currently independent links; there existsno joint optimization to maximize efficiencies on the wired or wirelesslinks. While it will be understood that embodiments described herein maybe applied to a number of fronthaul and backhaul networks, for sake ofclarity and improve understanding the remainder of this disclosure willbe directed to cable networks, MSO, and DOCSIS and backhaulapplications. This is not meant to be limiting in anyway.

There are several issues to be considered in integrating mobile accessand cable networks. One is latency reduction. In particular, reducingaccess latency improves TCP performance and wireless user quality ofexperience (“QoE”), driving a competitive 3G, 4G, and 5G backhaulsolution. Additionally, integration may provide optimal resourcecoordination, as the coordinator of the integrated network has a globalview of available resources on its served network. Moreover, coordinatedscheduling and QoS between networks facilitates optimization of spectrumuse, network capacity, average and peak throughput, and coverage area,to name a few. Integration may also provide consistency acrossdeployments, as implementing resource management on an integratednetwork could produce consistent behavior across deployed networks(stickiness to integrated network rather than end-device vendor). Withregard to cost savings, resource management allows for effective use ofwireless resources, supporting more users without requiring largeamounts of unlicensed spectrum. Finally, an integrated system wouldenable implementation of advanced network techniques.

In accordance with features of embodiments described herein, techniquesfor integrating mobile access and wireline (particularly cable) networksprovide a number of solutions to above-noted concerns, including latencyreduction per burst, latency reduction per flow, bearer or packettraffic level steering utilizing available wireless technologies,virtualizing of certain functionalities of the small cells, as well asnumerous others to be described in detail herein below. In particular,with regard to latency reduction, embodiments described herein enablecoordination of request-grant loops for wireless and wireline links.With regard traffic steering, embodiments described herein enable asmall cell to steer or split a bearer between wireless radios to improveresource utilization, enable steering to occur between small cells for aUE within overlapping coverage areas, and may be implemented at a ModemTermination System (“MTS”), which includes termination systems such as(but not limited to) CMTSs, Optical Network Terminals (“ONTs”), OpticalLine Terminals (“OLTs”), Network Termination Units (“NTUs”), andSatellite Termination Units (“STUs”). In cable or DOCSIS examples andembodiments “CMTS” is used, although it will be understood that in anyembodiment, the CMTS may be replaced by a network specific terminationdevice or MTS.

Certain embodiments discussed herein include techniques to minimizelatency inherent in communications systems and are described usingbackhauling LTE data over a DOCSIS access network as an example. Incertain embodiments, the techniques involve defining an ApplicationProgramming Interface (“API”) between an LTE upstream (“US”) schedulerand a DOCSIS US scheduler that enables the scheduling operations to bepipelined. In operation, a DSC network element, which may include an SC(standalone or split), a cable modem (“CM”), and/or an optional networkinterface device (“NID”), may both issue bandwidth grants to a UE andprovide the grant information to the DOCSIS system. The DOCSIS scheduleruses the grant information to line up “just-in-time” grants on theDOCSIS system.

In accordance with features of embodiments described herein, each DSCmay aggregate multiple unlicensed radio bearers it serves into a singleDOCSIS service flow. Each licensed radio bearer is mapped into aseparate SF with QoS guarantee. Advantages of DSC include latencyreduction, spectral efficiency, and cost savings. With regard to latencyreduction, using a centralized CMTS scheduler, one scheduling processcan be performed across the network served by the CMTS. Centralized CMTSscheduling reduces bearer modification latency across the network servedby the CMTS and centralized scheduling across licensed and unlicensedband reduces traffic latency. With regard to spectral efficiency, CMTShas a global view of spectral resources at its served network.Scheduling is performed by the CMTS to optimize licensed and unlicensedspectrum, as well as coverage area. With regard to cost savings, the eNB(or small cell) is simplified, exploiting the eNB resource efficiently,the MAC can be virtualized when coupled with a remote PHY (“SDR” or“RPD”), and wireless component vendors can be mixed and matched becausecontrol is performed at the CMTS.

In a more traditional backhaul architecture, small cells are expected tobe deployed within or outside of a macro cell coverage area for boostingcapacity, enhancing coverage, etc. Traditionally, backhaul is enabledvia a mobile operator's fiber infrastructure. There are two major issueswith extending this traditional backhaul architecture for small cells.First, costs can become high when fiber is needed to be run for eachsmall cell. The traditional peer-to-peer architecture between the mobilecore and each macro cell works well for the traditional sparse macrocell deployment model. Second, there is lack of support for the X2interface. The lack of low latency logical links between small cellsresults in inefficient and non-optimal network transport. In contrast,in accordance with features of embodiments described herein, DOCSIS 3.1CMTS is deployed to support a limited number of commercial grade,integrated DOSIS small cells. Existing HFC infrastructure is reused;accordingly, there is no new cost associated with running new fiber tosmall cell sites. Additionally, depending on the peering point for LTEtraffic, local breakout for traffic that does not need to traverse backto the mobile core can be supported by the CMTS. The CMTS can implementan intelligent scheduler to dynamically load balance the small cellsbased on a variety of factors.

FIG. 2A illustrates a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of aDSC system communications environment 200A in which a DOCSIS network isused to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. The communicationsenvironment 200A supports connection of at least one user equipmentdevice (“UE”) (not shown), via a radio frequency (“RF”) interface to astandalone SC 204A. As used herein, UE can be associated with clients,customers, or end users wishing to initiate a communication in acommunication system via some network. The term “user equipment” isinclusive of devices used to initiate a communication, such as acomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or electronicnotebook, a cellular telephone, an iPhone, an IP phone, or any otherdevice, component, element, or object capable of initiating voice,audio, video, media, or data exchanges within a communication system. UEmay also be inclusive of a suitable interface to the human user, such asa microphone, a display, or a keyboard or other terminal equipment. UEmay also be any device that seeks to initiate a communication on behalfof another entity or element, such as a program, a database, or anyother component, device, element, or object capable of initiating anexchange within a communication system. Data, as used herein in thisdocument, refers to any type of numeric, voice, video, media, or scriptdata, or any type of source or object code, or any other suitableinformation in any appropriate format that may be communicated from onepoint to another. On power up, UE can be configured to initiate arequest for a connection with a service provider. A user agreement canbe authenticated by the service provider based on various serviceprovider credentials (e.g., subscriber identity module (“SIM”),Universal SIM (“USIM”), certifications, etc.). More specifically, adevice can be authenticated by the service provider using somepredetermined financial relationship.

Referring again to FIG. 2A, the SC 204A is connected to a cable modem(“CM”) 206A (also sometimes called just “modem” herein). The CM 206A maybe connected to one or multiple SC 204A. The CM 206A is connected to acable modem termination system (“CMTS”) 208A via hybrid fiber coax(“HFC”), for example. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, the CMTS208A is implemented as an integrated CMTS (“I-CMTS”). The CMTS 208Aconnects the SC 204A/CM 206A to a wireless core, which in theillustrated embodiment comprises a mobile core 210A, which may beimplemented as an LTE packet core. It will be recognized that wirelesscore may also comprise a WiFi core, a 5G core, or any other wirelessnetwork core. It will be understood that CM 206A may be collocated withSC 204A or may be located separate and independent from the SC.Additionally, a collocated combination of the SC 204A/CM 206A may bereferred to herein as a DSC network element.

FIG. 2B illustrates a simplified block diagram of another embodiment ofa DSC system communications environment 200B in which a DOCSIS networkis used to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. Similar to thecommunications environment 200A, the communications environment 200Bsupports connection of at least one UE via an RF interface to astandalone SC 204B. One or multiple SC 204B is connected to a CM 206B.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2B, CMTS functionality is split betweena CMTS core 208B and an RPD 209B. The RPD 209B/CMTS core 208B connectsthe SC 204B/CM 206B to a mobile core 210B, which may be implemented asan LTE packet core. It will be understood that CM 206B may be collocatedwith SC 204B or may be located separate and independent from the SC.Additionally, a collocated combination of the SC 204B/CM 206B may bereferred to herein as a DSC network element.

FIG. 2C illustrates a simplified block diagram of yet another embodimentof a DSC system communications environment 200C in which a DOCSISnetwork is used to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. Similar to thecommunications environment 200A, the communications environment 200Csupports connection of at least one UE via an RF interface to astandalone SC 204C. One or multiple SC 204C is connected to a CM 206C.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2C, CMTS functionality is split betweena remote MAC/PHY 207C and a router 209C. The remote MAC/PHY 207C/router209C connects the SC 204C/CM 206C to a mobile core 210C, which may beimplemented as an LTE packet core. It will be understood that CM 206Cmay be collocated with SC 204C or may be located separate andindependent from the SC. Additionally, a collocated combination of theSC 204C/CM 206C may be referred to herein as a DSC network element.

FIG. 2D illustrates a simplified block diagram of one embodiment of aDSC system communications environment 200D in which a DOCSIS network isused to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. The communicationsenvironment 200D supports connection of at least one UE via an RFinterface to an rSC 204D portion of a split SC, which also includes acSC portion 205D. One or more rSC 204D is connected to a CM 206D (alsosometimes called just “modem” herein. The CM 206D is connected to acable modem termination system (“CMTS”) 208D via hybrid fiber coax(“HFC”), for example. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2D, the CMTS208D is implemented as an I-CMTS. The CMTS 208D/cSC 205D connects therSC 204D/CM 206D to a mobile core 210D, which may be implemented as anLTE packet core. It will be understood that CM 206D may be collocatedwith rSC 204D or may be located separate and independent from the rSC.Additionally, a collocated combination of the rSC 204D/CM 206D may bereferred to herein as a DSC network element. In certain embodiments,I-CMTS, cSC, and/or mobile core may also be collocated.

FIG. 2E illustrates a simplified block diagram of another embodiment ofa DSC system communications environment 200E in which a DOCSIS networkis used to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. Similar to thecommunications environment 200A, the communications environment 200Esupports connection of at least one UE via an RF interface to an rSC204E portion of a split SC, which also includes a cSC portion 205E. Oneor more rSC 204E is connected to a CM 206E. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2E, CMTS functionality is split between a CMTS core 208E and an RPD209E. The RPD 209E/CMTS core 208E/cSC 205E connects the rSC 204E/CM 206Eto a mobile core 210E, which may be implemented as an LTE packet core.It will be understood that CM 206E may be collocated with rSC 204E ormay be disposed in a location separate and independent from the rSC.Additionally, a collocated combination of the rSC 204E/CM 206E may bereferred to herein as a DSC network element.

FIG. 2F illustrates a simplified block diagram of yet another embodimentof a DSC system communications environment 200F in which a DOCSISnetwork is used to provide a backhaul for an LTE eNB. Similar to thecommunications environment 200A, the communications environment 200Fsupports connection of at least one UE via an RF interface to an rSC204F portion of a split SC, which also includes a cSC portion 205F. Oneor more rSC 204F is connected to a CM 206F. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 2F, CMTS functionality is split between a remote MAC/PHY 207F and arouter 209F. The remote MAC/PHY 207F/router 209F/cSC 205F connects therSC 204F/CM 206C to a mobile core 210F, which may be implemented as anLTE packet core. It will be understood that CM 206F may be collocatedwith rSC 204F or may be disposed in a location separate and independentfrom the rSC. Additionally, a collocated combination of the rSC 204F/CM206F may be referred to herein as a DSC network element.

It will be noted that FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate embodiments comprising astandalone SC, while FIG. 2D-2F illustrate embodiments comprising asplit SC. It will be recognized that techniques described herein areequally applicable to any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2A-2F. Itwill be further recognized that the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.2A-2F are provided for purposes of example only and are not meant to bean exhaustive list of embodiments in which the techniques describedherein may be advantageously implemented. Moreover, although notillustrated in FIGS. 2A-2F, a network interface device (“NID”) mayoptionally be provided between the SC/rSC and CM for purposes to bedescribed in greater detail hereinbelow.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a technique forQuality of Service (“QoS”) matching and expedited session setup inaccordance with embodiments described herein. In general, when a UE or amobile core wants to establish a communication session with the other,the UE, small cell and LTE packet core exchange data sessionsestablishment control signaling that includes QoS parameters. Currently,there is no QoS setup on the DOCSIS link. Embodiments herein enablesetting up a session with matching QoS on DOCSIS, as well as doing so inan expedited fashion. Referring now to FIG. 3, which illustrates aUE-initiated session setup scenario, when a UE 300 launches anapplication, it requests initiation of a new LTE session (Data RadioBearer (“DRB”)) and QoS reconfiguration by sending a bearer resourceallocation request 302 to an eNB/SC 304. The eNB 304 forwards acorresponding request 306 to a mobile core node 308, which responds bysending a dedicated EPS bearer context activation 310. In accordancewith features of embodiments described herein, a CMTS with gateway node312 intercepts the request 306 and/or response 310 and configures a newDOCSIS service flow or reconfigures an existing DOCSIS service flow tomatch the QoS parameters of the new LTE session, critical for real-timecommunication (RTC) applications, as represented in FIG. 3 by adouble-ended arrow 314. At the same time, LTE session setup continuesuntil completion (316), at which point UE 300 may begin transmittingdata (318).

The CMTS performs intercept, service flow (re-)configuration during LTEsession setup, substantially in parallel with LTE session setup,resulting in reduced session setup latency. In a particular embodiment,the CMTS “snoops” the LTE session setup and performs its owncorresponding session setup, thereby enabling a DOCSIS session setup. Incertain embodiments, a common policy service would setup correspondingsessions on both the mobile and DOCSIS networks. The CMTS will alsosnoop session keep-alives and the session tear-down as well. The CMTSwill also need to know what the service profile will be. This could be adefault profile in the CMTS for all LTE connections, or it could bebased upon snooping specific LTE parameters that relate to SLAparameters like CIR and max bandwidth. After intercepting the LTEsession setup messages, CMTS obtains a list of Tunnel Endpoint IDs(TEIDs) and the corresponding QoS Class Identifier (QCI), as well as theUE IP address. This allows the CMTS to classify LTE bearer packets ontothe correct DOCSIS sessions without having to unwrap the GPRS TunnelingProtocol (GTP) tunnels. Depending on the forwarding model, the CMTS mayneed to keep track of the VLAN ID associated with LTE control planetraffic.

Techniques for reducing latency will now be discussed in greater detail.In accordance with features of embodiments described herein, an LTEscheduler is provided in a SC (or eNB) for granting access to an LTEnetwork. Referring to FIG. 4, in a system comprising a standalone SC (oreNB), when UL data is available for transmission and no grants have beenallocated to a UE 400, the UE sends a scheduling request (“SR”) 402 toan LTE scheduler at an eNB 404 connected to a CM 406. The eNB 404typically needs approximately 4 ms of turnaround time to decode the SR,and generate a scheduling grant (“UL grant”) 408, which needs to arriveat the UE 400 approximately 4 ms prior to the granted time to allow forUE processing. Upon receipt of the UL grant, the UE 400 provides abuffer status report (“BSR”) 410 of its logical channel groups (“LCG”)to the eNB 404.

Two round trips may be needed before the first data arrives at the eNB404/CM 406 (as indicated by an arrow 412), which in currentarrangements, triggers initiation of a DOCSIS request-grant (“REQ-GNT”)loop 414 between the CM 406 and a CMTS 416 requesting a DOCSIS schedulerresiding in the CMTS to grant a data transmission opportunity. Inparticular, once data arrives at the CM 406, the CM will wait for arequest transmission opportunity (“REQ,” represented by an arrow 418),which typically takes 0 to 2 ms. If the request is not in contentionwith other CMs, the CMTS 416 will provide a grant (“MAP,” represented byan arrow 420). The grant is typically 4 ms later, but can be longer.When the grant arrives, the CM 406 forwards the data (represented by anarrow 422) to the CMTS 416 at the grant time.

SR is a 1-bit indicator sent by the UE to request a grant of bandwidthfor sending UL data. The SR alone is not sufficient for an eNB MACscheduler to assign UL resources for data transfer; therefore, the eNBsends a grant of sufficient size to accommodate the BSR. BSR is a 4-byteMAC Control Element (“CE”) that reports outstanding data for each of theUEs four logical channel groups (“LCGs”). The mapping of a radio bearer(logical channel) to an LCG is performed at radio bearer setup time bythe eNB based on the corresponding QoS attributes of the radio bearers,such as QoS Class Identifier (“QCI”). For example, Radio ResourceControl (“RRC”) configuration and reconfiguration messages may alwaysmap to a fixed LCG such as LCG0. Each logical channel or multiplelogical channels belong to an LCG can be mapped directly to a DOCSISupstream (“US”) service flow (“SF”). This mapping can be done by pushingpolicy into the CMTS from the DOCSIS policy engine, or the LTE policyengine, or a common policy system, or by the CMTS snooping the NAS(non-access stratum) signaling including the mobile session setupmessages and mapping that to a DOCSIS service flow.

In accordance with features of embodiments described herein, instead ofwaiting for UE data to arrive at the CM before sending a transmissionrequest to the CMTS/DOCSIS scheduler, the REQ-GNT processes on the LTEand cable systems may be pipelined to reduce latency.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram illustrating techniques forpipelining LTE and DOCSIS requests. In accordance with features of suchembodiments described herein, when an LTE scheduler 500 deployed in a SC(or in a portion thereof, in the case of a split SC) issues a bandwidthgrant to a UE, as represented by an arrow 501, the grant information maybe sent to a DOCSIS scheduler 502 deployed in a CMTS 503 so that theCMTS can pre-generate DOSCIS grants to a CM 504 for transmitting UEdata. This is a form of pipelining in which the first pipeline stage(i.e., the LTE scheduler 500) informs the next stage (i.e., the DOCSISscheduler 502) of what is about to come. In an embodiment, the DOCSISscheduler 502 executes once every 2 ms, such that half as frequently asLTE scheduler 500, the DOCSIS scheduler may aggregate LTE transactionsfrom 2 LTE subframes (2 ms). To accommodate this, in one embodiment, abandwidth report builder (“BWR builder”) 506 intercepts the grantinformation sent by the LTE scheduler 500 and constructs a BWR 508,which is a special message describing the number of bytes to betransferred per QoS class (e.g., data, voice, signaling). Alternatively,the BWR 508 may correspond to a bulk grant that aggregates bytesexpected in all QoS classes. In another embodiment, the BWR may includetraffic profiles that are a result of HARQ retransmissions and/or packetdelayed due to reassembly. A BWR indicates future bandwidth needed forthe LTE system which is described with a forward-looking trafficprofile. The forward-looking traffic profile may contain the quantity ofbytes required at specific time interval, or policy information relatedto traffic flow, or trend or rate information.

To allow the CMTS 503 to pre-generate DOCSIS grant for the correct timefor CM 504 to transmit LTE data, the BWR 508 includes the timing of theLTE grant, such as the LTE subframe number, or the IEEE 1588 timestamp.The CMTS 503 translates the LTE timing to DOCSIS timing.

This BWR 508 may be sent periodically (e.g., every 1 ms) to an APIinterface 510 of the DOCSIS scheduler 502 for use by a scheduling engine512 in scheduling DOCSIS grants. The bandwidth report builder 506 may becollocated with LTE scheduler (e.g., in the eNB) 500 or may be deployedas an agent that that snoops the LTE signaling, which agent may belocated in an NID or the CM, for example.

After the CM receives the BWR from the BWR builder, the CM needs to sendit to the CMTS in an expedient manner, in order for the DOCSIS schedulerto pre-generate DOCSIS grants. To accommodate this, in one embodiment,the BWR is classified by the CM into and sent using a special DOCSISservice flow such as unsolicited grant service (UGS). In order to sendBWR using UGS, the BWR needs to be a fixed length message, and the BWRbuilder sends the BWR in the same periodicity as the UGS grant interval.When servicing multiple UEs, the BWR aggregates all LTE grant info fromthe UEs into one BWR message and sends one BWR per period. In anotherembodiment, the BWR is classified into a real time polling service(RTPS). The CMTS polls the CM at regular interval, which allows the CMto forward BWR at pre-determined periodicity.

In certain embodiments, the BWR 508 is essentially an API into theDOCSIS scheduler 502. An LTE policy engine 514 and a DOCSIS policyengine 516 may be provided for specifying quality of service (“QoS”)parameters, as well as the number of DOCSIS service flows to use, whattype of scheduling to use, and other parameters during session setup.

In certain embodiments, policy may be used to determine how to map LTEtransactions into DOCSIS transactions. For example, all of the LTEtransactions set forth in the BWR (e.g., data, voice, signaling, highpriority, low priority) could be mapped into a single DOCSIS serviceflow, in which case bandwidth allocation could be as simple as adding upthe number of bytes, adding room for overhead, and sending a MAP.Alternatively, each request set forth in the BWR may be mapped to adifferent service flow and/or type of scheduling policy before a MAP isgenerated. The actual traffic profile is an allocation of the number ofbytes to be transferred at a specific time, and is described in the MAP.Data and BWR may be aggregated to a single common service flow or mappedto separate service flows to preserve QoS at a queuing level.

As discussed above, it will be recognized by the skilled artisan afterreading the present disclosure that other types of schedulers (e.g.,Wi-Fi, PON) could be pipelined in the same manner using an appropriateinterface between the schedulers for conveying scheduling information.

As indicated above, various challenges may be handled by the BWR. Itwill be noted that although there may be embodiments in which the BWR iseither “stateful,” in which case the BWR only lists new transactionsthat have not been previously reported (which will not include anyretransmissions of transactions or partial transactions), it isbeneficial for the BWR to be “stateless,” in which case the BWR listsall currently outstanding transactions (whether or not previouslyreported), including any HARQ retransmissions. Additionally, the CMTSmay be configured to access just the latest BWR, in which case astateless BWR would be necessary to ensure that no transactions arelost. In embodiments in which the CMTS is configured to access all BWRs(which would presumably be maintained in a queue in this embodiment),the stateful type of BWR might facilitate processing.

Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrated therein is a signaling diagramillustrating techniques for pipelining LTE and DOCSIS requests with SRoptimization in accordance with features of embodiments described hereincomprising a standalone SC (or eNB). As an optimization, an SR could besent to a CM inside a version of the BWR message to get an early CMTSrequest going (as illustrated in FIG. 6). To avoid the CM having tointerpret the SR, the eNB forms a specially formatted BWR (“BWR(SR)”),and the BWR(SR) is placed in the input port of the CM on the interfacebetween the eNB and the CM. The BWR may include the LTE subframe numberon which the SR was received so that the CMTS would know when to send agrant (MAP). In this manner, the CM does not have to interpret the SR.

As shown in FIG. 6, responsive to receipt of an SR 600 from a UE 602, aneNB 604 may indicate to a CM 606 that it is expecting UL data from theUE by forwarding the SR to the CM in the form of a specially formattedbandwidth report (“BWR”) that includes the SR (“BWR(SR)”), as indicatedby an arrow 607, which triggers the CM to initiate a REQ-GNT loop with aCMTS 608. In particular, the CM 606 sends a REQ message 610 to the CMTS608. The DOCSIS scheduler of the CMTS 608 issues a grant large enough tosend two BWRs, which is sent in a MAP grant 612. In the meantime,receipt of a BSR 614 from the UE 602 results in the creation at the eNB604 of a BWR including LTE grant information (“BRW (LTE grant)”), whichis forwarded to the CM 606 (arrow 616). The BWR (SR) and BWR (LTE grant)are forwarded to the CMTS 608, as indicated by an arrow 618, at the timeindicated in the MAP grant 612. The DOCSIS scheduler at the CMTS 608uses the information included in the BWR (LTE grant) message 618 toschedule a transmission time for the UE data and generates a MAP grant620 indicative of the scheduled time to the CM 606 such that when dataarrives at the CM 606, as indicated by an arrow 622, it may be forwardedto the CMTS 608 at the scheduled time, as represented by an arrow 624.It will be noted that, due to the pipelining enabled by the BWR, UE datamay be sent to the CMTS 608 substantially more quickly than in theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating techniques for pipelining LTEand DOCSIS requests without SR optimization in accordance with featuresof embodiments described herein comprising a standalone SC (or eNB). Asshown in FIG. 7, receipt of a BSR 700 from a UE 702 results in creationat an eNB 704 of a BWR including LTE grant information (“BRW (LTEgrant)”), which is forwarded to a CM 706, as indicated by an arrow 708.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, a CMTS 710 periodically pollsthe CM 706 by sending MAPs large enough to accommodate a BWR. At thenext transmission opportunity granted to the CM 706 by a CMTS 710 (asindicated in a MAP for BWR 712), the BWR (LTE grant) is forwarded to theCMTS 710, as indicated by an arrow 714, at the time indicated in the MAPfor BWR 712. The DOCSIS scheduler at the CMTS 710 uses the informationincluded in the BWR (LTE grant) message 714 to schedule a transmissiontime for the UE data and generates a MAP grant 716 indicating thescheduled transmission time to the CM 706 such that when data arrives atthe CM 706, as indicated by an arrow 718, it may be forwarded to theCMTS 710 at the scheduled time, as represented by an arrow 720. As withthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, using the pipelining enabled bythe BWR, data may be sent to the CMTS significantly more quickly than inthe embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

It will be recognized that, although only one eNB (eNB 704) is shown asbeing connected to the CM 706, scenarios exist in which the CM maysupport multiple eNBs. In such scenarios, the CM (or optional NID) willneed to aggregate the BWRs from the multiple eNBs and send an aggregateBWR to the CMTS. The CMTS will schedule sufficient bandwidth for all ofthe LTE grants included in the aggregate BWR.

It will be noted that the BWR may carry a variety of information. At thevery least, it carries the LTE grant to be scheduled in the future withthe corresponding LTE subframe number(s). Other information that couldbe carried in the BWR includes the IEEE 1588 timestamp, or other timinginformation that the eNB uses to remain synchronized with the CMTS, theUE identifier, and the granted bytes for each of LCGs. Referring againto FIG. 7, in accordance with features of embodiments described herein,the eNB 704 includes the LTE grant in the BWR 708.

Additionally, the CMTS 710 relates an LTE grant time to a DOCSIS granttime by operating a protocol that translates the timestamp that eNB andCMTS use to remain time-aligned, such as IEEE 1588 timestamp, to DOCSISminislot number.

Referring again to FIG. 7, the CM 706 must receive the BWR 708 and getit up to the CMTS 710 in an expedient manner. One option is to make theBWR a fixed length message so that the CMTS 710 could use theunsolicited grant service (“UGS”). To make this effective, the eNB 704may need a max BWR packet sending rate that would equal the UGS grantinterval. For example, the BWR could aggregate all of the informationfrom all UEs into a single BWR and send one BWR for all UEs into one BWRmessage and send one BWR per LTE subframe.

As illustrated and described above, CMTS grant generation may proceed asfollows. The BSR reports the buffer status of each LCG. The eNB forwardsits scheduling grant (“LTE grant info”) to the UE and to the CM (whichforwards it to the CMTS) once the grant is determined by the LTE MACscheduler. From this information, the CMTS knows when data is expectedto arrive at the CM and can plan its MAP generation accordingly. Incertain embodiments, the LTE subframe numbering and the DOCSIS upstreamminislot numbering may be synchronized to achieve this end. It should benoted that the CM grant may be wasted if UL data is not receivedcorrectly on the LTE side. As described above, the present system andmethod may be applied to any backhaul system utilizing REQ-GNTprocesses, and cable/DOCSIS embodiments are discussed here for exemplarypurposes only and to simplify the description.

It will be noted that on the LTE side, there may be transactions (SRs,BSRs) during the same LTE subframe from the multiple active UEs a singleSC may be serving, all wishing to send UL traffic. In one embodiment,each LTE transaction (i.e., BSR) is mapped to a single DOCSIStransaction (i.e., REQ-GNT loop). In a more likely scenario, a BWR willaggregate LTE transactions. Additionally, for scenarios in whichmultiple SCs are attached to a single CM, when the CMTS to which the CMis connected snoops the session setup messages, as described above, theCMTS should know the number of SCs connected to the CM. Assuming one BWRper SC for each BWR interval, the CMTS can allocate bytes to sendmultiple BWRs for the corresponding number of SCs for the CM.Alternatively, the CM may aggregate multiple BWRs into a single BWR.This means the CM treats the BWR as a DOCSIS MAC Management Message andmust interpret it, rather than treating it as a data packet whenforwarding it upstream to the CMTS. Additionally and/or alternatively,the number of SCs attached to a CM may be manually configured on theCMTS, as this number is likely static.

Referring now to FIG. 8, in a system comprising a split SC that includesan rSC 800 and a cSC 802, when UL data is available for transmission, UE804 sends a BSR 806 to the rSC 800, which forwards the BSR to a CM 808(along with other BSRs from other UEs), as represented by an arrow 809.A CMTS 810 periodically polls the CM 808 for BSRs via MAPs, such as MAP812. At the time indicated in the MAP 812, CM 808 forward the BSR(s) toCMTS 810, as represented by an arrow 814. CMTS 810 forwards the BSRs tocSC 802, as represented by an arrow 816. The cSC 802 generates a ULgrant back to UE 804, as represented by arrows 818.

The UL grant 818 sent by the cSC 802, is propagated by the CMTS 810, theCM 808, and the rSC 800. Upon receipt of the UL grant 818, UE 804forwards UL data along with a BSR (if any) to the rSC 800 at the timeindicated in the UL grant, as represented by an arrow 820. The ULdata/BSR are forwarded to CM 808, as represented by an arrow 822, atwhich point, the CM initiates a REQ/GNT loop 824 with the CMTS, theresult of which is the forwarding of UL data/BSR to the CMTS 810 (arrow826) and ultimately arrival of UL data at cSC 802 (arrow 828).

FIG. 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating techniques for pipelining LTEand DOCSIS requests in accordance with features of embodiments describedherein comprising a split SC. As shown in FIG. 9, in a system comprisinga split SC that includes an rSC 900 and a cSC 902, upon receipt at rSC900 of a BSR 904 from a UE 906, the rSC 900 forwards the BSR (along withother BSRs from other UEs) to a CM 908, as represented by an arrow 910.A CMTS 912 periodically polls the CM 908 for BSRs via MAPs, such as MAP914. At the time indicated in the MAP 914, CM 908 forward the BSR(s) toCMTS 912, as represented by an arrow 916. CMTS 912 forwards the BSRs tocSC 902, as represented by an arrow 918, which generates a UL grant backto UE 904, as represented by arrows 920. Additionally, a bandwidthreport builder either residing on the cSC 902 or between the CMTS andthe cSC intercepts the grant information from the LTE scheduler andconstructs a BWR 922 that describes the number of required bytesrequired per QoS class (e.g., data, voice, signaling). Alternatively,the BWR 922 may be a bulk grant that aggregates bytes expected in allQoS classes. The BWR 922 is sent from the cSC 902 to the CMTS 912. Uponreceipt of the BWR, CMTS 912 uses the information provided in the BWR togenerate an upstream grant (“MAP”) to the CM 908 sized and timed toforward the expected amount of data at the expected time as described inthe BWR, as represented by an arrow 924.

Upon receipt of the UL grant 920, UE 904 forwards UL data/BSR to the rSC900 at the time indicated in the UL grant, as represented by an arrow926. The UL data/BSR are forwarded to CM 908, as represented by an arrow928, just before the scheduled transmission time indicated in the MAP924. The CM 908 forwards the UL data to the CMTS 912, which forwards itto the cSC 902, as represented by arrows 930, at the time indicated inthe MAP 924. Using the pipelining enabled by the BWR, UL data may besent to the CMTS significantly more quickly than in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 8.

As previously mentioned, in certain embodiments, in order for the BWR tobe able to reference future granting events, all schedulers must havethe same sense of time. In one embodiment, this is done by referencingall schedulers to an IEEE 1588 clock. This is generally conventional foran eNB and may be derived from a 1588 clock on its backhaul Ethernet. Astandardized DOCSIS 3.1 a mechanism called DOCSIS Time Protocol (“DTP”)allows an IEEE 1588 clock to be transferred through DOCSIS rather thanover the top. In general, a time stamp is derived from a central clockand the CMTS/DOCSIS scheduler is synchronized with it. At that point,DOCSIS Time Protocol (“DTP”) is used to distribute the timestamp acrossthe DOCSIS system to the cable modem and the cable modem generates a1588 time stamp using DTP as a reference on the Ethernet network thatruns to the eNB. In this manner, both systems may be synchronized to acommon clock. In situations in which the DOCSIS system cannot supply the1588 clock or if the DTP system needs additional correction, the NID maybe used to inject the 1588 clock.

In particular, in a split SC scenario, the LTE rSC and LTE scheduler aresynced at subframe number level. When the LTE scheduler sends a BWR, itonly includes the LTE subframe number. Even though the CMTS is synced tothe LTE system, it has no notion of LTE subframe number; therefore, theCMTS doesn't know UL grant time. In response, in one embodiment, the LTEscheduler includes a timestamp of either current time, or future ULgrant time in the BWR. Alternatively, the LTE scheduler includes in theBWR:

delta T=UL grant time−current time, or delta subframe number.

A translation function is required on the CMTS to translate the IEEE1588 timestamp to the DOCSIS minislot number. Once the CMTS knows theLTE UL grant time in the form of DOCSIS minislot number, CMTS needs tocompute the earliest time the DOCSIS grant should be scheduled totransfer the LTE data at the CM. In an embodiment in which the LTE MACscheduler resides in a central location (i.e., at the cSC) with an R-PHYdeployment for cable, the earliest DOCSIS scheduled grant at a CM for ULdata may be calculated as: UL grant arrival at CMTS+DOCSIS DS delay+rSCencoding time for UL grant (A)+UE processing time+rSC decoding time forUL data (B)+CM lead time. rSC encoding time for UL grant isapproximately equal to 1 ms for LTE framing. rSC decoding time for ULdata is approximately equal to 2 ms. UE processing time is approximatelyequal to 4 ms.

A challenge is presented by HARQ, which adds bandwidth requirements thatneed accommodation. HARQ is a technique that enables faster recoveryfrom errors in cellular networks by storing corrupted packets in thereceiving device rather than discarding them. Using HARQ, even ifretransmitted packets have errors, a good packet can be derived from thecombination of corrupted ones. The DOCSIS scheduler/policy engine shouldalso take into account timing of the LTE grant to allow for propagationof the data through the system.

It will be recognized that the BWR itself has to go through DOCSISsystem and is therefore subject to latency; therefore, by the time thereport is received at the CMTS, transactions reported therein mayalready have occurred. As a result, portions of the BWR may be used topredict future behavior. For example, of some number (e.g., 20) oftransactions have been missed, it may be assumed that the same number ofsimilar transactions may be missed in the future. In this manner, theBWR (or a series of BWRs) may be used to predict a pattern oftransactions (or grant requests) over time. Other information conveyedby the BWRs with regard to the types of transactions listed therein mayalso be used to perform predictive scheduling.

Embodiments described herein may support a common form of BWR for avariety of technologies or may support technology-specific BWR formats(e.g., an LTE BWR, a Wi-Fi BWR, a PON access report) and are especiallyapplicable to the next generation of Wi-Fi, is anticipated to deploy anLTE-type scheduler. Further, the pipeline could include more than twostages, such as LTE to DOCSIS R-PHY to Passive Optical Network (“PON”).

One aspect of embodiments described herein includes techniques forbackhauling HARQ retransmissions with low latency. In particular,techniques described herein will significantly reduce the latencyinvolved for HARQ retransmissions. Techniques described herein includesystem and method to estimate latency on the backhaul to allow forjust-in-time HARQ feedback transmission by an LTE scheduler at a cSC toenable backhauling over DSC architecture.

FIG. 10 illustrates simplified block diagrams illustrating architecturalcombinations of split SC and split DOCSIS, and for each combination, howHARQ is treated when pipelining techniques is implemented.

FIG. 11A is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in asplit SC embodiment of a DSC system. FIG. 11B is a signaling diagramillustrating HARQ retransmissions in a split SC embodiment of a DSCsystem in which pipelining of the LTE and DOCSIS requests isaccomplished using a BWR in accordance with embodiments describedherein.

FIG. 12A is a signaling diagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions inanother split SC embodiment of a DSC system. FIG. 12B is a signalingdiagram illustrating HARQ retransmissions in another split SC embodimentof a DSC system in which pipelining of the LTE and DOCSIS requests isaccomplished using a BWR in accordance with embodiments describedherein.

It will be recognized that in LTE UL transmission, packet segmentationmay occur due to eNB unable to grant what is requested by the UE infull. Since BSR does not report packet boundaries, partial grant mayresult in a packet being segmented and sent in separate grants. Whensegmentation occurs, the eNB buffers the segment(s) and does not egressthe packet to the CM until it is received in full. Since the BWRdescribes the amount of data that should be expected to egress the eNBand arrive at the CM at a precise time, a partial grant may result in amismatch between the LTE data actually egressed and the amount that isexpected as predicted by the BWR. FIG. 13A illustrates UL data planepacket segmentation in accordance with embodiments described herein.

With regard to segmentation at the LTE RLC sublayer, after receiving agrant in bytes, the UE fills the transport block (“TB”) with Radio LinkControl (“RLC”) Packet Data Units (“PDUs”). RLC PDU size is based on TBsize. If an RLC Service Data Unit (“SDU”) is large, or the availableradio data resource in low (resulting in smaller TB size), the RLC SDUmay be split among several RLC PDUs. This is referred to as“segmentation.” If the RLC SDU is small, or the available radio dataresource is high, several RLC SDUs may be packed into a single PDU. Thisis referred to as “concatenation.” In view of the foregoing, it isrecognized that an IP packet may be segmented and transported in morethan one subframe. eNB buffers partial segments of Packet DataConvergence Protocol (“PCDP”) packets until they are received in full,then send complete PDCP/IP packets to the egress queue, which is thensent to the CM. It will be noted that the UE fills the grant with thehighest priority Logic Channel (“LC”) first. Additionally, there is 1:1mapping from Dedicated Radio Bearer (“DRB”) to LC, one RLC entity perLC. Each RLC entity creates RLC PDUs. LC to LCG mapping is performed atDRB setup.

FIG. 13B is a simplified block diagram of BWR adjustment in accordancewith features of embodiments described herein. As shown in FIG. 13B, theeNB buffers partial packets until the remaining segment is sent in afuture grant. There needs to be sufficient DOCSIS grant to account forthe previous segment so that the entire packet can be sent when itegresses from the eNB. There are several solutions to accomplish this.In one solution, eNB adds additional bytes to BWR or CMTS grantingadditional bytes in DOCSIS grants. In a simplified brute forceadjustment, the eNB adds up to maximum packet size such as 1518 bytes tothe BWR for each active UE for each BWR reporting period. Alternatively,the CMTS can perform the adjustment. In a worst case scenario, DOCSISgrant overage is 12 Mbps per active UE.

When the eNB performs reassembly of an IP packet due to thefragmentation in the UE, additional latency is introduced in the eNB. Ifthe latency build up is too great, it may delay the IP packets enoughthat they will not arrive in the CM upstream buffer in time to use thegrant that the CMTS has sent in accordance with the BWR. In anothersolution, it is assumed that most or all latencies are N number of LTEsub-frames or less. N is typically one or two. The grant at the CM isthen delayed on average by that amount of time. In such a system, theCMTS will calculate when it thinks the IP packets should arrive at theCM and then issue grants at a later time. Thus, there will be bufferingtime in the CM that can absorb the latency caused by the reassemblyoperation in the eNB. The typical buffering in the CM by system designmay be 1 to 5 ms.

Alternatively, the CMTS will issue grants to the CM aggressively toachieve minimum latency and then issue additional CMTS grants tocompensate for the unused CMTS grants. To keep track of the unusedbytes, the eNB should include in the BWR a report of the number of bytesfrom IP packets that were delay and the amount of time they were delayedin the reassembly engine. This report can take the shape of bytes in andbytes out every subframe time. In this manner, the reassembly engine isacting like a FIFO where all bytes come in eventually come out, and thedifference between the input and output times represents on goinglatency and number of bytes. Alternatively, the CMTS can look at itsCMTS receiver circuit and measure the amount of unused bytes in thereceived grants and re-issue that number of bytes plus some amount ofheadroom. The amount of headroom can be configurable as an absoluteamount, a percentage amount, or a heuristic amount based upon apredictive algorithm. For example, the algorithm may choose to ignorereassembly delays of less than X ms (e.g., 2 ms) and then multiple thenumber of bytes delayed in the reassembly engine above 2 ms by 120% toprovide 20% headroom.

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a technique fordynamic traffic steering in a communications network 1500 in accordancewith embodiments described herein. The network 1500 illustrated in FIG.14 may correspond to an urban hotspot or MultiDwelling Unit (“MDU”)deployment in which a CMTS with gateway 1502 chooses which one of aplurality of DOCSIS small cells (“DSCs” or “CM/SCs”), illustrated inFIG. 14 as DSCs 1504(1), 1504(2), and 1504(3) and which radio technologyon which to transport bearer traffic for UE1 and UE2. A primary goal ofthe illustrated technique is to make best use of all spectrum resourcesvia intelligent traffic steering. As shown in FIG. 14, UE1 has anongoing data session on DSC 1504(1) via a Wi-Fi connection 1506. It willbe assumed for the sake of example that UE1 then initiates a new videocalling session. CMTS 1502 has knowledge of the traffic QoSrequirements, network conditions (e.g., congestion on the Wi-Ficonnection 1506 and underutilization of an LTE connection 1508), UE1capability and UE1-to-DSC mapping. Based on this information, the CMTS1502 can steer the new session onto the LTE radio of CM/SC2 1504(2).CMTS may also aggregate traffic on LTE and Wi-Fi links.

In an alternate embodiment for traffic steering of LTE traffic overDOCSIS, the CMTS may require a new flow or bearer definition. Currently,a DOCSIS Service Flow (SF) defines a flow or connection from the CMTS tothe CM. In this embodiment, it would use a Mobile Flow (MF) that is froma CMTS to UE. This is because the CMTS switches packets based on the IPaddress of the packets and must pick a destination path when switching.The destination path now in a CMTS is a SF. The MF would be a constantconnection that could then be mapped to different SFs. A table could bebuilt on which SF to use. Since the MF can change paths, one MF wouldmap to one of multiple SFs. The method to populate this table of SFs canbe from either snooping of LTE traffic or through interaction with themobile policy and/or OSS systems. For aggregating multiple links, therecould be two MF active for a single UE, and a learning algorithm on theCMTS would learn the IP address of each UE flow from the upstream linkand then assign a forwarding path in the CMTS downstream path to steerpackets to the correct MF. This learning algorithm would be rundynamically. It would be based on at least IP DA/SA pairs. A flow in theupstream with IP DA=X would be used to create a route in the downstreamfor IP SA=X. This is a form of policy based routing.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are simplified block diagrams illustrating a techniquefor dynamic small cell resizing in a network 1600 comprising three DSCs1602(1), 1602(2), and 1602(3) each having a respective cell size1604(1), 1604(2), and 1604(3) associated therewith. Small celldeployments may be capable of expanding and shrinking in cell sizedepending on traffic demands and other factors via transmit poweradjustments. Depending on the number and identity of users being servedby a CM in a DSC, unused, or remaining, capacity of a DSC can vary overtime. In certain embodiments, a CMTS connected to the DSCs balancesremaining capacity among the CMs supporting the small cells by expandingor shrinking the size of each cell while maintaining overall coveragecontinuity. FIG. 15A illustrates load balancing among cell sizes of DSCs1602(1), 1602(2), and 1602(3), such that, as represented in a graph1606, less than 50% of the total capacity of the CM of DSC 1602(1) isbeing used. Referring now to FIG. 15B, upon detection that theutilization of the CM of DSC 1602(1) has grown to close to maximumcapacity, as represented in a graph 1606′, the CMTS shrinks the cellsize 1604(1) of DSC 1602(1) and expands the cell sizes 1604(2), 1604(3)of DSCs 1602(2), 1602(3), to balance capacity among the DSCs whilemaintaining overall coverage continuity in the network 1600. Toaccomplish this, signaling is required. Signaling can either between theCMTS and the Small Cells, or between a separate management and each ofthe small cell entities.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are simplified block diagrams illustrating a techniquefor controlling power consumption in a network 1700 comprising threeDSCs 1702(1), 1702(2), and 1702(3) each having a respective cell size1704(1), 1704(2), and 1704(3) associated therewith, in accordance withembodiments described herein. In certain embodiments, during times oflow load, one or more of the DSCs 1702(1)-1702(3) are switched off(meaning their respective cell sizes 1704(1)-1704(3) shrink to zero),while another one or more of the DSCs are expanded to accommodate thecapacity of the one or more DSCs that have been switched off. FIG. 16Aillustrates a state of the network 1700 when all of the DSCs1702(1)-1702(3) are on. FIG. 16B illustrates the state of the network1700 when DSCs 1702(1) and 1702(2) have been switched off (meaning thecell size of each is effectively zero) and the cell size 1704(3) of DSC1702(3) is expanded to compensate for the reduction in capacity due tothe switching off of the other two DSCs.

In particular embodiments, the various components may comprise asoftware application executing on a specialized hardware appliance(e.g., suitably configured server) with appropriate ports, processors,memory elements, interfaces, and other electrical and electroniccomponents that facilitate the functions described herein. In someembodiments, the various components may execute on separate hardwaredevices and/or comprise software applications or combination thereofthat perform the operations described herein.

Note that although the operations and systems are described herein withrespect to a cable network architecture, the operations and systems maybe used with any appropriate related network function, includingload-balancers, firewalls, WAN accelerators, etc., and the appliancesthat are associated therewith (e.g., customer premises equipment (CPE),cable modem (CM), etc.)

Note that in this Specification, references to various features (e.g.,elements, structures, modules, components, steps, operations,characteristics, etc.) included in “one embodiment”, “exampleembodiment”, “an embodiment”, “another embodiment”, “some embodiments”,“various embodiments”, “other embodiments”, “alternative embodiment”,and the like are intended to mean that any such features are included inone or more embodiments of the present disclosure, but may or may notnecessarily be combined in the same embodiments. Furthermore, the words“optimize,” “optimization,” and related terms are terms of art thatrefer to improvements in speed and/or efficiency of a specified outcomeand do not purport to indicate that a process for achieving thespecified outcome has achieved, or is capable of achieving, an “optimal”or perfectly speedy/perfectly efficient state.

In example implementations, at least some portions of the activitiesoutlined herein may be implemented in software in, for example, PSMmodule 24. In some embodiments, one or more of these features may beimplemented in hardware, provided external to these elements, orconsolidated in any appropriate manner to achieve the intendedfunctionality. The various components may include software (orreciprocating software) that can coordinate in order to achieve theoperations as outlined herein. In still other embodiments, theseelements may include any suitable algorithms, hardware, software,components, modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitate theoperations thereof.

Furthermore, PSM module 24 described and shown herein (and/or theirassociated structures) may also include suitable interfaces forreceiving, transmitting, and/or otherwise communicating data orinformation in a network environment. Additionally, some of theprocessors and memory elements associated with the various nodes may beremoved, or otherwise consolidated such that a single processor and asingle memory element are responsible for certain activities. In ageneral sense, the arrangements depicted in the FIGURES may be morelogical in their representations, whereas a physical architecture mayinclude various permutations, combinations, and/or hybrids of theseelements. It is imperative to note that countless possible designconfigurations can be used to achieve the operational objectivesoutlined here. Accordingly, the associated infrastructure has a myriadof substitute arrangements, design choices, device possibilities,hardware configurations, software implementations, equipment options,etc.

In some of example embodiments, one or more memory elements can storedata used for the operations described herein. This includes the memoryelement being able to store instructions (e.g., software, logic, code,etc.) in non-transitory media, such that the instructions are executedto carry out the activities described in this Specification. A processorcan execute any type of instructions associated with the data to achievethe operations detailed herein in this Specification. In one example,processors could transform an element or an article (e.g., data, orelectrical signals) from one state or thing to another state or thing.In another example, the activities outlined herein may be implementedwith fixed logic or programmable logic (e.g., software/computerinstructions executed by a processor) and the elements identified hereincould be some type of a programmable processor, programmable digitallogic (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM)), an ASIC that includes digitallogic, software, code, electronic instructions, flash memory, opticaldisks, CD-ROMs, DVD ROMs, magnetic or optical cards, other types ofmachine-readable mediums suitable for storing electronic instructions,or any suitable combination thereof.

These devices may further keep information in any suitable type ofnon-transitory storage medium (e.g., random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), field programmable gate array (FPGA), erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), etc.), software, hardware, or in any othersuitable component, device, element, or object where appropriate andbased on particular needs. The information being tracked, sent,received, or stored in communication system 10 could be provided in anydatabase, register, table, cache, queue, control list, or storagestructure, based on particular needs and implementations, all of whichcould be referenced in any suitable timeframe. Any of the memory itemsdiscussed herein should be construed as being encompassed within thebroad term “memory element.” Similarly, any of the potential processingelements, modules, and machines described in this Specification shouldbe construed as being encompassed within the broad term “processor.”

It is also important to note that the operations and steps describedwith reference to the preceding FIGURES illustrate only some of thepossible scenarios that may be executed by, or within, the system. Someof these operations may be deleted or removed where appropriate, orthese steps may be modified or changed considerably without departingfrom the scope of the discussed concepts. In addition, the timing ofthese operations may be altered considerably and still achieve theresults taught in this disclosure. The preceding operational flows havebeen offered for purposes of example and discussion. Substantialflexibility is provided by the system in that any suitable arrangements,chronologies, configurations, and timing mechanisms may be providedwithout departing from the teachings of the discussed concepts.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail withreference to particular arrangements and configurations, these exampleconfigurations and arrangements may be changed significantly withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular communication exchanges involving certain network access andprotocols, communication systems described herein may be applicable toother exchanges or routing protocols. Moreover, although communicationsystems have been illustrated with reference to particular elements andoperations that facilitate the communication process, these elements,and operations may be replaced by any suitable architecture or processthat achieves the intended functionality of the various communicationsystems herein.

Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, andmodifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims. In order to assist the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and, additionally, anyreaders of any patent issued on this application in interpreting theclaims appended hereto, Applicant wishes to note that the Applicant: (a)does not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph six (6)of 35 U.S.C. section 112 as it exists on the date of the filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “step for” are specifically used in theparticular claims; and (b) does not intend, by any statement in thespecification, to limit this disclosure in any way that is not otherwisereflected in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving at a terminationelement of a first network a bandwidth report (“BWR”), wherein the BWRincludes information regarding a data transmission opportunity over asecond network for at least one endpoint data; scheduling a firstnetwork transmission opportunity for the at least one endpoint datausing information derived from the received BWR; and receiving from afirst network forwarding device the at least one endpoint data inaccordance with the scheduled first network transmission opportunity. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the BWR occurs prior to anarrival of the at least one endpoint data at the first networkforwarding device.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprisingtransmitting a grant message identifying the scheduled first networktransmission opportunity to the first network forwarding device prior toan arrival of the at least one endpoint data at the first networkforwarding device.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminationelement comprises a Cable Modem Termination System (“CMTS”) and thefirst network forwarding device comprises a Cable Modem (“CM”).
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the information regarding the at least oneendpoint data transmission opportunity over the second network isgenerated by an LTE scheduler from a Buffer Status Report (“BSR”)received from the at least one endpoint and wherein the BWR is generatedby a BWR builder using at least the information regarding the at leastone endpoint data transmission opportunity.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the LTE scheduler is disposed in a small cell device comprisingat least one of a standalone small cell and a split small cell.
 7. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising processing the BWR at the firstnetwork forwarding device to produce a Data over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (“DOCSIS”) REQ message.
 8. The method of claim 3, whereinthe grant message comprises a Data over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (“DOCSIS”) MAP message.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first network comprises a wired communications network and thesecond network comprises a wireless communications network.
 10. Anapparatus comprising a termination element of a first network aprocessor, and a memory device, wherein the apparatus is configured for:receiving a bandwidth report (“BWR”), wherein the BWR includesinformation regarding a data transmission opportunity over a secondnetwork for at least one endpoint data; scheduling a first networktransmission opportunity for the at least one endpoint data usinginformation derived from the received BWR; and receiving from a firstnetwork forwarding device the at least one endpoint data in accordancewith the scheduled first network transmission opportunity.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the receiving the BWR occurs prior to anarrival of the at least one endpoint data at the first networkforwarding device.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatusis further configured for transmitting a grant message identifying thescheduled first network transmission opportunity to the first networkforwarding device prior to an arrival of the at least one endpoint dataat the first network forwarding device.
 13. The apparatus of claim 10,wherein the termination element comprises a Cable Modem TerminationSystem (“CMTS”) and the first network forwarding device comprises aCable Modem (“CM”).
 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein theinformation regarding the at least one endpoint data transmissionopportunity over the second network is generated by an LTE schedulerfrom a Buffer Status Report (“BSR”) received from the at least oneendpoint and wherein the BWR is generated by a BWR builder using atleast the information regarding the at least one endpoint datatransmission opportunity.
 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein theapparatus is further configured for processing the BWR at the firstnetwork forwarding device to produce a Data over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (“DOCSIS”) REQ message and wherein the grant messagecomprises a Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (“DOCSIS”)MAP message.
 16. One or more non-transitory tangible media that includescode for execution and when executed by a processor is operable toperform operations comprising: receiving a bandwidth report (“BWR”),wherein the BWR includes information regarding a data transmissionopportunity over a second network for at least one endpoint data;scheduling a first network transmission opportunity for the at least oneendpoint data using information derived from the received BWR; andreceiving from a first network forwarding device the at least oneendpoint data in accordance with the scheduled first networktransmission opportunity.
 17. The media of claim 16, wherein thereceiving the BWR occurs prior to an arrival of the at least oneendpoint data at the first network forwarding device.
 18. The media ofclaim 16, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting a grantmessage identifying the scheduled first network transmission opportunityto the first network forwarding device prior to an arrival of the atleast one endpoint data at the first network forwarding device.
 19. Themedia of claim 16, wherein the information regarding the at least oneendpoint data transmission opportunity over the second network isgenerated by an LTE scheduler from a Buffer Status Report (“BSR”)received from the at least one endpoint and wherein the BWR is generatedby a BWR builder using at least the information regarding the at leastone endpoint data transmission opportunity.
 20. The media of claim 18,wherein the operations further comprise processing the BWR at the firstnetwork forwarding device to produce a Data over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (“DOCSIS”) REQ message and wherein the grant messagecomprises a Data over Cable Service Interface Specification (“DOCSIS”)MAP message.